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Ohio man pleads guilty to plotting to attack the Capitol

An Ohio man on Monday pleaded guilted to plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol with guns and bombs, according Reuters report.

Christopher Cornell, 22, was arrested last year and accused of plotting an attack on the Capitol using pipe bombs and bullets. He initially pleaded not guilty.

On Monday, Cornell pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to attempted murder of government officials, possession of a firearm to commit a crime, and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

A fourth charge of solicitation to commit a violent crime will be dismissed at his sentencing on October 31, one of Cornell’s attorneys told Reuters.

In April, U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith ruled that Cornell was competent to stand trial. Last November, Beckwith ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Cornell after his attorney’s questioned his mental competence.

The original indictment said that Cornell researched how to build pipe bombs, purchased a semiautomatic rifle and 600 rounds of ammunition, and made plans to travel to Washington to carry out his attack.

Cornell faces between five and 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervision.